Cheney is one of the most extensively covered subjects of Neoabolitionism,[3][4][5] for his public denouncement of slavery, involuntary servitude, and advocation for fair and equal representation, egalitarianism, and personal sovereignty.

His religious community work garnered him widespread support, culminating in his nomination for a seat in the Maine House of Representatives without his knowledge.

He gave many abolitionist speeches to the legislature, which produced mixed reactions and death threats; historians have occasionally noted him as "completely and utterly careless with his life.

After his political career, he continued to publish anti-slavery pieces in his newspaper, and establish the Maine State Seminary, which would later be named "Bates College.

"[2] He governed as the first President of Bates College for nearly four decades–from 1855 to 1894–creating its liberal arts curriculum, hiring faculty, and choosing its campus; during this time he adopted the moniker O.B.

His rebellious side was exposed on numerous occasions, most notably when a Free Will Baptist came to the family's house |to recite lessons, Cheney jumped and stabbed the windowsill with his jack-knife scaring everyone in the room, which formed an ongoing reputation of the young boy.

[6] At age thirteen, he attended the New Hampton Academical and Theological Institute in 1829–30, which was five miles away, his mother's decision to send him so far way was partly based on Cheney's unhealthy interest with knives; he cut the end of his thumb while husking corn.

[6] While going through Parsonsfield, he was surrounded by racial segregation and religious oppression and later in life, sought an educational institution that catered to everyone that required it, that would take the form of a rigorous, and academically prominent school.

In 1836, Cheney enrolled in Brown University, but while in Providence witnessed mobs violently treating people with the same religious and political beliefs as he had.

The waving of handkerchiefs by women young and old, and the cheers from the crowd showed how great a victory we had over the pro-slavery spirit that was thought to have crushed us.

[6] During this time, he worked for the Underground Railroad, and along with his second brother, Elias Hutchins, illegally harbored and transferred slaves from Windy Row, New Hampshire to Hancock.

His reputation earned him a visit from noted abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, who stayed at his home during the 1840 New England Anti-Slavery Society Convention.

He later attended the Free Will Baptist Bible School in Whitestown, New York to study theology but had to leave following his wife's death in June 1846.

[7][6] His only son, Horace Cheney, was admitted to Bowdoin College in Brunswick as one of the 100 students allowed to study at the university during the early 19th century.

[13] His later career in the Maine House of Representatives, secured $2,000 for his academy in Lebanon, regulated liquor traffic, and advocated for temperance.

One year later in 1853, he was assigned as a delegate to Free Will Baptist General Conference, and participated in numerous talks that helped establish a political link to the movement.

He choose not to seek another term in the Maine Legislature due to his increasingly ineffective legislation giving blacks quasi-rights failed.

[6]He switched his political affiliation to the Republican Party, due to their liberal and democratic stance on slavery and personal sovereignty.

[6] Cheney went back to the Maine State legislature and used his political sway to bypass certain legal proceedings and begin the incorporation of a new school.

[6] Construction of the school began in Parsonsfield, Maine, however, the project drew the attention of millionaire textile tycoon, Benjamin Bates, who took special interest in the college.

He convinced Cheney to build his school in the economically booming town of Lewiston, where Bates had begun to develop highly profitable mills.

[19] In 1860, Cheney delivered the graduating dress to a class of fifteen male students, stressing "impact in a changing world.

[20][16][17] Deeply moved by the financial backing of Bates, Cheney asked the board of the Seminary to rename the college in his honor.

He often noted Dartmouth v. United States, a Supreme Court case in reinforcing his beliefs that "a college can never pass into the hands of any other people or party without the consent of these churches or their proper representatives.

I am ready to die for freedom", causing them question the dynamic involved at the school as this was not a student but the President asserting such a statement.

[6] In 1891, Cheney amended the charter to Bates to require that its president and a majority of the trustees be members of the Free Will Baptist denomination.

After he retired, this amendment was revoked by the legislature in 1907 at the request of his successor, George Colby Chase, which allowed the college to qualify for Carnegie Foundation funding for professor pensions.

Cheney founded and was the first president of the Free Will Baptist Church at Ocean Park, Maine, a seaside retreat on Old Orchard Beach.